THOUGH Qatar has vaccinated a majority of school teachers and other staff but it is a wise and timely decision to switch to online-only mode of learning till the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic gets fully under control.
Last year, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education also successfully adopted distance learning then gradually introduced hybrid model consisting of distance and in-person classes to keep children and their families safe from viral outbreak.
Now as the country is passing through the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and the variants of the coronavrus are highly transmissible and the number of reported cases is also on the rise with every passing day the decision of adopting distance learning is a judicious move. Owing to conditions related to coronavirus pandemic and the increase in number of COVID-19 cases in the community, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has decided to adopt distance learning and suspend attendance of all students in all public and private universities, schools and kindergartens in Qatar, as of Sunday (tomorrow).
The decision comes after coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and pursuant to precautionary and preventive measures and measures required in the public interest and taking into account the health of students and staff both teaching and administrative, Ministry said. During the distance learning implementation, teachers will continue to attend schools. The final exams for all grades will be held in person at schools according to the scheduled dates. More procedures to be taken in this regard will be announced later, the Ministry added.
No doubt that in the last one year, Qatar has successfully tackled challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic to country’s educational system through timely decisions. Qatar has also vaccinated teachers and other staff of schools on priority basis considering them as essential workers so that kids, their families and eventually the whole society could be saved from the potential threat of spread of infection through in-person class rooms.
Though children do not suffer from serious complications due to COVID-19, they can transmit the infection among their families and relatives. The Ministry has emphasised that distance learning is an integral part of the educational process and academic achievement. Student’s attendance will be recorded in this learning model. It further called on the parents to closely follow up with the students’ online attendance, cooperate with the schoolteachers and offer their children an appropriate educational environment at home.
